Haggis, It's not just for breakfast anymore.

Because I wear kilts, the people around me sometimes send me Scottish paraphenalia. (For the record, I am of predominantly German heritage and have no Scots in me that I am aware of).

If you want to know more about kilts, you can read my archive blog: http://rodg3r.blogspot.com/2009/05/kilts.html.

Anyway, today, I came in to work and found a recipe for Haggis on my desk. Now, I've had haggis, and it isn't bad. Can't say it's that good either. It's basically a large boiled sausage that really needs some gravy or ketchup on it.

Interestingly enough, the Scottish Haggis eating champion, says that the worst thing about winning a haggis eating contest is the retching afterward.

With that said, I have included a traditional haggis recipe below, along with an American version which is actually pretty good and is a little like meatloaf. The American version uses a loaf pan instead of a sheep stomach as it tends to be a little hard to locate sheeps stomachs in the U.S.A.

Traditional Scottish Haggis Recipe

2 lbs. dry oatmeal
1 lb. chopped mutton suet (the hard fat around the kidneys)
1 venison or sheep liver, boiled and minced
sheep heart and lungs, boiled and minced
sheep kidney, boiled and minced
2 hen’s eggs
1 large chopped onion
1 cleaned sheep or lamb's stomach bag
1 ½ cup beef or lamb stock cooled
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Toast oatmeal in iron pan slowly until crisp. Mix oatmeal, liver, heart, lungs, kidney, suet, onion and spices together in a large bowl. Add eggs and stock and mix with hands till it holds together. Ladle mixture into stomach bag until mostly full. Press down as you go to remove any air. Sew the stomach up to create a large sausage. Prick this several times with a fork to prevent it from bursting as it cooks. Place the haggis into boiling water and cook for four to five ours. Serve on a bed of boiled cabbage with a side of fried turnips and potatoes. Enjoy a glass of scotch on the side.

American Haggis

4 cups Quaker Oats
1 pound of bacon diced
1 calf liver diced
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound ground beef hamburger
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, chorizo, or other spicy pork sausage

1 large chopped onion

2-3 large eggs
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

In a deep pot, fry bacon until just done, you want it loose and springy with the fat still on it and not crispy. Drain off most of the bacon grease and set it aside in reserve, leaving a little in the pan. Pour oats in pot and brown them carefully, turning often. Remove oats from pot. Return remaining bacon grease to pot and brown onions. Add calf liver ground beef, hamburger, sausage, cooked bacon and spices and cook until meat is just cooked, but not brown. Remove mixture from pan and let it cool completely.

Mix meat mixture, oatmeal, and eggs in large bowl until stiff enough to hold together. Use your hands to form into a sausage shape. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray oil and place the sausage in loaf pan. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes until crispy on top and heated all through. Slice and serve with fried potatoes.